News

People Are Still Freaking Out About Chipotle

by Chris Tognotti

We'd better get used to this, because it's what Hillary's life will likely be for the next one-and-a-half years: constant, breathless coverage paired with conspicuously overplayed criticisms. And in this case, it's all over something pretty, pretty silly — just a humble trip to a nearby Chipotle for a burrito bowl. Who among us hasn't yearned for a little guac to help soothe our frayed nerves? But, regardless, some people have reacted negatively to Hillary Clinton's Chipotle trip, from your average, everyday shit-talkers on social media to one of her likely GOP competitors.

If you didn't read any of the countless articles and reactions about this — nothing like a post-announcement, incognito munchie run to seize the news cycle, it seems — Hillary Clinton went to a Chipotle in Ohio on Monday. She picked up a chicken burrito bowl, a Blackberry Izze (which are pretty delicious, for what it's worth), a salad, and a soda, according to Business Insider. And she did so without being noticed, at least not initially. After the press was tipped off that she'd been there, the store's manager disbelievingly checked out the security footage, only to find it was true.

Some people, predictably enough, have since been using the occasion to take a few shots at the 2016 presidential aspirant. Some of it's been lighthearted enough, to be sure, though some of it's veered towards the silly, and the downright offensive.

Take likely GOP presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, for example. As detailed by ABC News, Bush joked about the former Secretary of State, lording his alleged cooking skills over her.

I actually cook it at home. I don’t need to go to Chipotle. ... Do I go there? Yeah, I go there. The one on US 1. Drive my own car, park my own car, get out of my own car. Get Chipotle, take it home.

See, Jeb gets out of his own car, not some elitest van. We can assume from this reply that he won't be having anyone else drive him around should he opt to run, or worse yet bring him any food. Who knows, maybe in Jeb Bush's America ordering food for delivery is a damn-near aristocratic act? All joking aside, though, boasting that you "don't need to go to Chipotle" is an awkward move when you follow it up by admitting that, yeah, I go to Chipotle.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Of course, a fair amount of the criticism she's getting has to do with she and her crew's reported failure to tip (aide Huma Abedin and spokesperson Nick Merrill were also in attendance). This is a slightly fairer criticism, at the very least — by the standards often applied to presidential contenders, a person of significant wealth failing to kick a little loose change to working people is a bad look, at bare minimum. But some people are hell-bent on making that molehill-sized issue into something much bigger.

Look, I'll be honest on this — my income level considered, I'm one of the more generous tippers you'll find, often going around 25 percent. And I can't recall ever dropping anything into a Chipotle tip jar, assuming the location nearest me even has one. And while she surely knows everything is fair game now, were I Clinton I'd be a little peeved to have that fact blown up on social media after being confirmed by the store's manager.

In any event, hopefully we get some honest-to-god news items to start pouring over soon, because this one's getting as stale as... well, pick a hackneyed food simile of your choice.

Image: Getty Images